No height limit for entrepreneurship: Kansas nonprofit boosts children’s business literacy

Kids are more impactful than they are given credit for, shared Leah Ellis, founder of The Society of Child Entrepreneurs.

“The big, hairy, audacious goal is to create an entire culture in which you are not judged based on your age but on the quality of your ideas,” she said of the Goddard, Kansas-based nonprofit. “And really, what that means is we want kids to be able to speak up and stand up for what they think is right, without being told they’re too little or too cute.”

Leah Ellis, Society of Child Entrepreneurs

The Society of Child Entrepreneurs (SoCE) — launched in July 2024 — teaches financial literacy, entrepreneurship, problem solving, and leadership to kids six through 17 by letting them start and run their own businesses.

“Every one of our members is a business owner in their own right,” Ellis explained. “And they’re not little kids selling pony beads. They’re truly children who are identifying problems in their communities, solving those problems, articulating why it matters, and then selling their products to the community at large and making real money doing it.”

Children are not considered the leaders of tomorrow in the nonprofit, she continued.

“We look at every child as a leader right now,” she added, “and ask them what they want to see happening in their community today, rather than kicking the can down the road until they’re older or taller.”

There are two courses of entry into the SoCE, Ellis noted. The first is through membership, which is $150 a year and for kids who are already entrepreneurs.

“They’re treating us as like a mastermind program, where we’re continuing to help them develop the business they already have,” she explained. “We have workshops every month and we do Children’s Business Fairs where they’re selling their products.”

The second entry is through school partnerships, she continued. The SoCE is partnered with two private schools and one homeschool co-op in the Goddard area and she is working to expand those partnerships.

“They come in, and week one, we literally get all the way down to the basics of what an entrepreneur is,” she said. “And over the course of 36 weeks, they go from a vague understanding of what an entrepreneur is to, at the end, they do their first Children’s Business Fair as business owners.”

“Then at that point they can convert into the membership program if they would like,” she added.

Right now, all of the programming offered is the south-central area of Kansas, Ellis noted, but she is hoping to offer some temporary programming in the Kansas City area until she can hire an additional instructor. She also has an online platform — SoCE Circle — where parents can download lesson plans and join discussion boards from anywhere.

Leah Ellis’ daughters sell lemonade during a Children’s Business Fair event organized by the Society of Child Entrepreneurs; courtesy photo

Pinning the coolest business ideas

This year, members of the SoCE will have the chance to sell their products at seven Children’s Business Fairs — which are part of the Acton Children’s Business Fair network. The next fair will be May 31 at Wichita Riverfest. They will also be able to pop-up at other events around the Goddard area throughout the year.

“The kids are brilliant and they come up with the coolest business ideas,” Ellis noted.

For example, she said, one of the SoCE members was concerned about his peers’ reading ability, so he hand-drew and sells bookmarks with genre-specific book recommendations on them. He also sells books from the recommendations lists.

“That’s great because he’s encouraging youth literacy,” she continued, “and also creating some income for himself and making it so his friends have something to talk to him about, because they’re all reading the books he recommended.”

Another kid in the program loves to make simple, beaded pins, Ellis said. After being unsure how to persuade people to buy her product, she created an elevator pitch that says each pin is a silent way for each person to communicate who they are and what’s important to them without ever having to say anything.

“So she specializes in creating ways for you to express yourself wherever you go,” Ellis explained. “And she’s selling pins. So it’s really fun to see the kids figure out why it matters to do what it is they’re doing.”

Ellis’ daughter — who is also the inspiration for the program — created an eco-friendly pet party business, she noted, renting out fabric and porcelain decorations that she made that can be returned, sanitized, and reused.

“It’s sustainable; it’s super cute,” she added. “And all of us Millennials get to take cute pictures of our dogs, which is what we really care about.”

Leah Ellis helps cut the ribbon at the Society of Child Entrepreneurs in Goddard; courtesy photo

Sparked by open minds

Ellis — a former daycare teacher, where she taught the alphabet and engineering curriculum to 3 year olds — was inspired to start SoCE when her daughter, who was 4 at the time, decided she wanted to start her own business, she shared.

At the time, Ellis’ daycare in Southern California was closed because of the pandemic, so she and her husband decided to start a financial coaching business and she started watching business training videos while taking care of her two children.

“My 4 year old came up to me and said, ‘Mom, I want to start a business, too,’” she recalled. “And I told her, ‘No, of course not, you’re 4.’ And she said, ‘But why?’ And with no good answer, I decided — unprecedented times and all that stuff — to let her start her first business at 4 and a half years old.”

While in Southern California, her daughter participated in a few events, including a Children’s Business Fair, she said. Then when they moved back to Kansas, Ellis decided to host her own.

“It was the first time that I had been the organizer for the event and was really in charge of all the kids and what was going on and really got to know all of them,” she explained. “And at the end of the event, the educator in me about had a heart attack, because I realized I had a room full of kids who wanted to learn something, and I didn’t teach them anything.”

This led to her launching the SoCE.

“They had such open minds and so much willingness to learn,” she added.

One of Leah Ellis’ daughters and a member of Society of Child Entrepreneurs testifies March 5 on behalf of Kansas Minor Microbusiness Act (The SoCE Law) at the Kansas Legislature; courtesy photo

Heavy barrier to the hustle

The SoCE isn’t just educating Kansas kids about the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting their business ventures, Ellis shared, the nonprofit is also advocating for them at the state level. It is working to pass the Kansas Minor Microbusiness Act (The SoCE Law), a proposed bill designed to give Kansas youth ages 6–16 the opportunity to start and operate microbusinesses safely, responsibly, and without unnecessary red tape.

“In the state of Kansas, any person who wants to sell their goods more than two times per year is required to remit sales tax and have business insurance and potentially even file a DBA,” she explained. “That’s a really heavy barrier to entry for child entrepreneurs. Those are just things that they don’t know and their parents aren’t comfortable doing for them.”

The SoCE has been working with several representatives to create a law that, for any business that is owned and operated by children under the age of 18, they do not have to remit sales taxes or get any licenses or permits on up to $10,000 per year, she continued.

“The kids get to practice multiple times per year and really be able to run their business and learn the skills that come with entrepreneurship,” she noted. “We did go on March 5 to the House of Representatives Committee on Taxation to testify on this bill and why it matters. We had three girls that were 7, 10, and 12 actually stand up and testify in front of the house and explain to them why this law mattered.”

The bill did not move forward during this legislative session due to timing, Ellis said on her blog, but the nonprofit plans to return next session to try again despite the disappointment.

“Next session, we will return with greater clarity, stronger alignment, and even more momentum behind this effort,” she wrote.